What Nun-Bishop Split Reveals About Today's Catholic Church

The bishops who make up the official leadership of the U.S. Catholic Church have steadfastly opposed Democrats' health care plans on pro-life
grounds, saying it will not sufficiently cut back on abortions. In an
unusual break with the church's leadership, an association representing
59,000 Catholic nuns has endorsed the health care bill, specifically
challenging the bishops' anti-reform argument. "Despite false claims to
the contrary, the Senate bill will not provide taxpayer funding for
elective abortions," they said in a letter. "This is the real pro-life
stance, and we as Catholics are all for it." We know what
this means for health care. But what does it mean for the Catholic
church?

Within Church, Culture War Rages The Washington
Post's liberal Catholic E.J. Dionne writes, "major Catholic leaders -- most of
them women in religious orders -- have picked up the flag of social
justice discarded by a bishops' conference under increasing right-wing
influence." If reform passes, "I suspect that many bishops would be
quietly grateful. In their hearts,
they know the nuns are right."

Bishops Have Conservative
Culture Commenter Ed Gleason at the national Catholic
weekly America Magazine notices that individual Bishops only challenge
the leadership on conservative grounds, never liberal. "Not one of the
300 diocese bishops has stood up and said 'I think that prudentially it
is OK to support this health care reform'." He asks, "Only conservative
bishops can critique other bishops? Do the bishops have a hidden
talking points website?"

Bishops Caught Up In Lobbyist
Mentality Their high level of influence, after all, makes them a
powerful lobby. Cerebral Catholic journal Commonweal writes, "for the purposes of
lobbying, a plausible falsehood is often as useful as the truth. But
crying wolf is always a dangerous game. If prolife groups raise false
alarms to bully politicians and scare up donations, they risk being
ignored when a real threat arises."

Nuns Confront Poverty,
Bishops Don't Liberal blogger Karoli explains that many nuns
dedicate their lives to helping the needy, which this bill would do,
while bishops worry more about abstract moral issues like abortion. "The
nuns signing this letter are the ones in the trenches, serving in
Catholic hospitals and health care clinics across the nation. They
represent those who see the wreckage left behind when people are denied
access to care until it's too late, the damage done when poor women
cannot get prenatal care, and when the sick are left to their own
devices. "

Catholic Women Groups Often Progressive
Catholic history professor Catherine Mooney tells the L.A. Times that
organizations of women within the Catholic church see themselves as
independent. " "I think they've shown over the years that they're not
afraid to take a stand. [...] They're speaking out for something that
they think is a point of justice, and speaks for Gospel values."

Deeper
Divide Within Church Also in the L.A. Times, Georgetown professor Clyde Wilcox says there's a
church-wide break "between those who urge no cooperation with any
government programs that support same-sex couples or abortion in any way
... and others who favor policies that enhance social justice and
provide benefits to the poor, even if this may mean some compromise on
these issues."